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Hi everybody
I've been playing around with luthiery for a couple of years. Nothing big, just restored a couple of violins, rehaired some bows, done some setups and is just about to be done with my very first instrument built from scratch. It's just an electric guitar, but it's a nice one and it's a start.
Now here's the thing: I'm a cellist. I can play a lot of strings, but I want to have an instrument that I've worked on that I can play a little more seriously than violins and guitars, partly so I can see if the things I do actually feels right if you're a more experienced player.
I found an old cello on ebay that, sadly, has been sanded down. Even though it's a shame, it's a great opportunity for me to sget into working on cellos, have an instrument to play that I've been working on and also carry out a dream I've had about getting a stained black cello, not just black paint or lacquer. All of that I can finally do without ruining a valuable instrument.
I don't expect much from it tonally, (it doesn't seem to me like it's overly well built) but of course I can hope.
That was a lot of background... My actual question is: Would it be possible to convert a normal cello into a five string one (I'm thinking low F rather than high E)? I realize it's a big and risky procedure, but I wanted to ask some more experienced builders what it would take. The idea came to me a couple of hours ago, so I haven't thought it all through yet, but here are my thoughts so far:
1 - Will the neck be able to take the pressure?
2 - Will I be able to make the fingerboard wide enough by just "fanning" it out a little from the neck rather than getting it square?
3 - I expect the tone of the cello to be changed, but would it necessarily be to the worse? I'm thinking that the bass bar is positioned for a four string bridge and would sound worse with a wider bridge? Now this is just pure guesswork, I haven't looked much into the construction's affect on tone even though I find it really interesting.
4 - If I plug the pegholes and drill new ones, would the pegbox then be strong enough to support an extra string?
5 - I'm used to four string cellos of course. I expect there to be a very different arch on the strings and a smaller spacing. How should I make that arch for best playability and does anybody know how big of a difference the spacing makes?
I hope somebody has the patience and experience to help me out here. Please tell me if I've forgotten something.
Have a great day :-)
Tobias